Fairness And Equality
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Rufus Scrimgeour is the best Auror the department has ever seen, all he needs is a little bit of respect.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

* * *

Word Count: 1775

Title: Fairness and Equality

Note: The "search" is interpreted as something internal- his search for recognition, as well as proof of Voldemort's return. Also AU! Draco betrays his father to save his mother.

Warnings: death, angst, loss, murder and torture of a child.

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International Wizarding School Competition:

[School]:

[Prompts]:

Main: [First line/last line] "No one looks back on their life and remembers the nights they had plenty of sleep."

Additional:

[Emotion] Anxiety

[Action] Being chased

[Theme]: Misunderstood. Your theme is: Misunderstood leader

* * *

Hogwarts

Assignment 8: Foreign Exchange: Other Magical Schools: Task #12. Emelius Browne's Correspondence College of Witchcraft (Bedknobs & Broomsticks): Write about searching for something important.

* * *

"No one looks back on their life and remembers the nights they had plenty of sleep," Auror Rufus Scrimgeour said as he looked to his partner.

"Wise words, partner," Jackson replied. "Let's get some coffee for the road."

Rufus nodded, getting up from his desk. Jackson was always late into the department, and he couldn't say it didn't annoy him somewhat. His father had always taught him he needed to do his best in everything he attempted.

They got told they needed to go check the security for the Quidditch match, and Rufus was happy for some monotony, chasing after bad guys can get a bit disheartening sometimes. This was making sure no little Wix get lost in the commotion of the celebrating crowds.

Rufus was standing by the gate watching the people set up their tents, smiling at the memories of his first Quidditch game. The stands were filled and excited chatter filled the air. Before Rufus knew he was just watching the parents with their children and not worrying too much about anything going wrong.

"Help! Someone help me!" A woman's scream echoed through the grounds. He ran to her, tripping over a branch in his haste to get to her. He heard a crack but kept running.

"Ma'am, got here as fast as I could, what seems to be the problem?" Rufus said. Jackson had disappeared off somewhere, and Rufus was left without a partner again.

"My little girl, she has been taken," the woman said, her voice was like a knife in his heart.

"Who did it? Did you see them?" He asked once the adrenaline from the run wore off, he felt a sharp pain in his right leg. He brushed off the pain, he needed to help find the little girl.

"It was a man, he was wearing a...a…" she stuttered.

"What ma'am?" Rufus insisted. He needed all the information he could get.

"A Death Eater mask," she spat out.

"Oh no," Rufus said. He had been worried about this, even since the Potter boy had insisted that Voldemort was back, and Minister Fudge had stuck his head in the sand and denied it all.

"I'm sorry, I'm not lying," the woman claimed in desperation, not sure if he would take her seriously.

"I believe you, ma'am," he said. "I will do my best to find out what happened to your daughter."

The throbbing pain in his leg didn't dissipate, and after he left it a week, he finally relented to have Jackson take him for a checkup at St Mungo's.

By that time the infection in his leg had spread so badly that they couldn't remove it altogether, and it was also clear he had broken a bone, which explained the stinging pain as the splintered bones dug into his skin.

* * *

_The caramel coloured snake was just lying there beneath a bush when Rufus and his father came across him. _

_"Kill it, Rufus," his father said, his eyes were cold, as cold as the shimmering scales of the snake in the sunlight._

_"I...no, I'm not doing this," Rufus said. _

_"Why not?" Mr Scrimgeour said, his eyes still on the creature._

_"The snake didn't harm us, it wouldn't be right," Rufus insisted, not shying from the furious look on his father's face._

_At Rufus's explanation, his father's face softened. "So, it's about fairness?" he asked, suddenly curious._

_"Of course," Rufus replied. _

_"Oh my boy, you will be a great leader someday," Mr Scrimgeour said, pulling the boy in to ruffle his sandy blond hair._

* * *

"Auror Scrimgeour, I gave you an order," Minister Fudge said.

"Well, with all due respect, perhaps you shouldn't be the one giving the orders," Rufus replied.

Fudge's face turned purple in his anger, but Rufus was never one to give in to bullies, not even the Minister.

Jackson coughed, trying to diffuse the situation. "We are on it, Minister," he replied, causing Rufus to glare at him. "We will apprehend the fugitive soon."

Rufus just sighed and left the Minister's office. It had become increasingly clear to him that he Minister was a bit of an idiot. He was too jealous of Dumbledore to focus on running the Ministry.

"Jackson, you know as well as I do that they are behind this," Rufus insisted.

"Of course, I saw the mark in the sky, I heard the women's testimony, and when we found her daughter…" Jackson shuddered and stopped talking.

Rufus blamed himself for the child's death, having found her dead in an alley, hit my the killing curse, he wondered if he could have done anything to save her. Maybe if he hadn't been so cavalier about watching the crowds. He made a promise to himself that if he was ever to become a leader he would care less about status and more about fairness and equality.

* * *

_"Always be the man you are," Mr Scrimgeour said the day his son turned sixteen. Rufus knew his father was ill and wouldn't be around much longer._

_"I'll make you proud father," he said with a small smile. _

_"I know you will, my boy. Always remember, doing the right thing is as important as being liked." Mr Scrimgeour said._

_"Yes, it's all about fairness and equality of all people," Rufus replied. _

_His father laughed, "All you need is the people skills."_

* * *

He often remembered his father's advice in his head when faced with moments like the one with the Minister, but that time his fury overrode his father's words to respect those in power. He realised people didn't understand him, he was quite the curious one.

Often he felt like he knew better but if nobody would take him seriously, what could he do? He could be a leader if they just gave him a chance. He kept on running, yet what was chasing him?

The pain in his leg served as a reminder that no matter what he did, he couldn't change the past, just like he couldn't save the little girl's life. He knew he could have taken the easy way, and just simply had the medi-witch heal him, but then he didn't learn anything from what happened.

"Scrimgeour," Jackson said, snapping him from his daydreaming. "I don't remember the Minister saying we aren't to follow the Death Eaters, do you?"

Rufus grinned at his partner, finally, they were going to prove that Voldemort returned, as well as make sure they did exactly what the Minister told them to do.

The two men set out the Knockturn alley, where they spoke to Mr Burgin at his shop.

"What are two fine Aurors doing in our part of the woods?" Mr Burgin asked.

"We need to find out if anyone has been selling cursed items to the shop," Rufus said, getting right to the point.

"No, I can't say they have," he replied insistently.

"If we search the property will it collaborate that statement?" He threatened.

"Auror, my clients have been assured the utmost anonymity, whether any dark artefacts are found in my shop I have no liberty to discuss their origin," Mr Burgin said, changing his story quickly.

Rufus sighed internally, he knew this was hopeless. The shop made his internal sensors of evil things go crazy and he felt uneasy being in there longer than needed.

"Well then, good day, Mr Burgin," he said, taking out an antique pocket watch that his father had given him that also doubled as a magical shield when activated. He watched the man's eyes light up as he checked the time, and wondered if he should try to bribe the man. His internal sense of right didn't allow it, so the two Aurors left the shop without the information.

* * *

When Rufus was approached by a boy named Draco Malfoy, claiming to have evidence of Death Eaters, he knew he would finally get his recognition.

"Auror Scrimgeour," the boy said. He was pale-skinned and blond, so blond he could be mistaken for a Veela.

"Yes, you must be Draco," Rufus replied. He tried his best to remain patient, he wanted this information and it wouldn't help to press the child too hard.

"Yes sir, I have evidence that my father is one of them, sir, and I would like to exchange that for annuity for myself and my mother," Draco said, getting down to the point.

"A boy that gets straight down to facts, I like it," Rufus said. "Well, tell me everything, and I'll see what we can do about helping you and your mother."

Draco gave testimony against his father, telling Rufus all about the dark mark, producing the mask as evidence, and even telling him about the torture of the little girl that Rufus had been too late to save. It had been Lucius Malfoy who had used Crucio on the poor thing until she screamed and then he didn't kill her with his wand, instead he kept a hand over her mouth until she stopped breathing.

When Rufus heard the boy softly telling the story about how his father had bragged about it, a shiver ran down his spine, and he saw in the boys stony eyes that he was trying not to let himself feel it either.

It was after Draco testified formally that they relocated Mrs Malfoy somewhere safe, and Draco stayed in Hogwarts until his father was found.

Rufus detained Lucius Malfoy, as well as the fugitive Bellatrix Lestrange, with minimal backup from his partner Jackson. It wasn't long after that it became clear that Voldemort was back, and now that Rufus had the evidence he had been looking for, he was thinking he may finally get the recognition he was searching for.

"Well done, Scrimgeour," Dolores Umbridge said, she was the undersecretary to the Minster, but he found the women's entire demeanour to be unpleasant.

After Cornelius Fudge was removed as Minister, Rufus heard they had once again approached Albus Dumbledore. He didn't like the man, he was aware that Albus Dumbledore was a well-respected individual, but he too often blurred the lines when it came to doing the right thing.

He knew Dumbledore would reject the position, as he had before. What he didn't expect was that they would approach him to become the new Minister for Magic.

He was overcome with emotion when they offered him the position, and couldn't deny that he felt he would do so much better in his time in the office than Fudge had managed to accomplish.

Which he did, in his period as the Minister he made many changes, and made sure the new motto of the Ministry became "_fairness and equality_".


End file.
